Like many industrial micromechanical components, after being cut from a body of material, watch hands are cleaned and treated by galvanic deposition in an electrolyte bath so as to coat the hands with a thin coating, for example a gold layer to protect them from oxidation and to give them a colour providing an attractive appearance.
Galvanic deposition is a well known technique which consists in using a continuous electrical current to deposit a metal material on the surface of a conductive part, the metal being initially in the form of cations in solution in a solvent. The component to be treated must thus be excited.
To date, in order to clean or treat watch hands by galvanic deposition, the hands are placed in batches in a basket or on a multi-hooked support called a “bouclard” which is in turn placed in a cleaning bath or in the case of galvanic deposition, in a galvanic bath for a determined period of time depending on the desired thickness of deposition. In the case of galvanic deposition, the basket is of course electrically conductive. The basket is regularly shaken during the operation for improved cleaning and, in the case of galvanic deposition, to prevent adhesion of the hands by the creation of a bridge of material or coating defects caused by overlapping.
Unfortunately, with this method scratches occur causing a high scrap rate.